Web Resources: Tribal Issues

Paula Campbell, Permanency Planning for Children Department, NCJFCJ

Summary: American Indian and Alaska Native children and families face a number of significant challenges. Many are born into communities that experience widespread poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence and chronic health problems at much higher rates than non-Native communities. The following website links, articles and publications provide guidance for judges and other judicial stakeholders in working with Native families.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among American Indian youth 15 to 19 years of age, with a rate 2.7 times (37.1 per 100,000) that of youth of all races in the United States. Within the Indian youth suicide group, American Indian children placed in non-Indian homes for adoptive or foster care suffer a rate of seventy suicides per 100,000, six times higher than that of other youth in the United States: Trauma Exposure in American Indian/Alaska Native Children Fact Sheet, Indian Country Child Trauma Center,

Native American Training Institute: The Native American Training Institute provides unique, culturally-relevant training and curriculum packages for professionals working with Native American children and families. http://www.nativeinstitute.org/abouttheinstitute.htm

A Native Pathway to Adulthood Curriculum, National Resource Center for Youth Services, Competency-based curriculum designed to enhance the skills of tribal and state workers in facilitating the transition of older Native American youth from out-of-home care to adulthood. http://www.nrcyd.ou.edu/programs/ilcurriculums/ysilcurric.html

Native American Rights Fund (NARF): Provides legal representation and technical assistance to Indian tribes, organizations and individuals nationwide. NARF focuses on applying existing laws and treaties to guarantee that national and state governments live up to their legal obligations. http://narf.org/about/about_whatwedo.html